How I Lost 30 Pounds—and Then Gained it All Back

The Lifestyle
I was never a fit person growing up. In fact, even as a kid I had a pot belly that people loved to rub. When I was about 8 years old, my parent’s marriage and finances were on the rocks—so I turned to starchy foods like bagels and microwave pizzas for comfort. My mom also makes the best Korean barbeque you’ll ever try. And since I was never very athletic, I wasn’t exercising except for a random walk outside and my weekly ballet class.

When I reached my teens, I started to notice stretch marks on my legs and hips, and I had to keep buying bigger clothes— and not because I was getting taller—but I tried to just ignore it. Then, I got to college and discovered the all-you-can-eat cafeteria. My plates (yes, more than one plate) started to overflow with foods I loved: pasta, baked potatoes, pizza, and of course—my addiction—Diet Coke.

The Change
One night, during the second semester of my freshman year at college, my friends and I took a bunch of pictures before going out downtown. After looking at the photos, I saw how much bigger I was than my friends standing next to me. The next morning I decided to weigh myself for the first time in almost a year. I weighed a shocking 152 pounds compared to the 130 I had weighed in high school. I thought about how I could have let my weight get this bad and wished that I had taken better care of myself. I realized I needed to finally get things under control.

I decided to completely change my lifestyle. I started by finally hitting my school’s gym and attempted to run on the treadmill, but I found out that I couldn’t even jog. For the first few weeks, all I could do was power walk, but knew I needed to keep at it to get better. By the spring, I was finally running. I felt like I could accomplish anything.

Trying to manage what I was eating was so much harder than starting to work out because I love food. The first step I took was trying to get my portions under control. I gradually started cutting back on what I would normally consider one serving until I finally reached a reasonable size. After that, I moved on to improving the foods I was putting on my plate instead of just watching how much I put on it. I filled up on salad and replaced oily foods like pasta and pizza with vegetables and lean protein—and I stopped making dessert "mandatory." I tried to keep myself from wandering around the giant cafeteria by keeping in mind that I had a whole year to try everything. I even started keeping healthier meals in my dorm to help stave off temptation. But the hardest part by far was limiting my Diet Coke habit. I went from drinking one every day to once a week and special occasions.

By my sophomore year, I weighed 122 pounds and felt fantastic. It was so great to finally feel comfortable shopping or going out with my friends. Plus, I could get to my classes across campus without being a sweaty mess.

New Me, Old Ways
When I hit my goal weight, I didn’t realize that I had to work at maintaining it. I had been driven by my weight-loss goal for so long that I didn’t have anything else pushing me to stay active. I started “forgetting” to work out, and over time my three to five gym visits a week turned into one or two mediocre weekly sweat sessions. As far as I was concerned, the work was over—I had already lost the weight.

My diet also started to slip. I stopped packing a healthy lunch and started just eating whatever my friends were having, like fast food and Starbucks Frappuccinos. I ended up totally returning to my pre-weight loss routine.

As my diet and exercise habits started to shift, the weight started to slowly come back on, especially during my winter and summer breaks. I treated my nearly month-long vacations from school as a retreat from healthy living. I thought that I could take a break from weighing myself and became more lethargic. Turns out, the unhealthy habits I had formed over a lifetime were more powerful than the new routine I had created.

At the end of my first semester of senior year, two years and five months after I reached my weight-loss goal, I looked in the mirror and I could see the extra weight in my face, my stomach, and my arms. Though I hadn’t weighed myself in nearly a year, I could see that I was almost back to where I started. When I finally stepped on the scale, I was 144 pounds, just eight shy of my starting weight.

Once again, I decided I needed to take my life back. I started out by doing online exercise videos, running, and strength training at least three times a week. To get my diet back on track, I started replacing my carb-heavy breakfasts with things like kale smoothies and cutting back on late-night snacking.

Starting Over
Despite my weight gain, I feel more motivated to keep up a healthy lifestyle than ever. And even though I’m close to my original weight, working out now is so much easier than it was when I first started losing weight because I know what my body is capable of. I also feel more confident going into round two of this journey because I know so much more about portion control and making healthy choices than I did before. It's frustrating to know that I have to re-fight a battle I’ve already won, but I am better prepared to do it.

Sylvia’s TipsDon’t stop making new goals. Once I reached my goal weight, I stopped making new goals. After gaining the weight back, I realized that setting new milestones at the gym, such as decreasing my mile time and increasing the weight I use to strength train, will keep me motivated to stay healthy.

Find new ways to motivate yourself. After following the same routine at the gym and eating the same meals all the time, I got burnt out on both of those things. It’s important to add variety so you can stick with a healthy routine for the long haul.

Don’t ignore the scale. My weight has fluctuated a ton over the past two and a half years. However, when my weight increased, I completely ignored the scale. Now I know it’s important to recognize when I’m gaining weight so I can get back on track sooner.

Sylvia Kim, 21, stands at 5’0" tall and works as a freelance writer in Austin.

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